Bearing



Jan. 13, 1942.

H. POTTER BEARING Filed Sept. 11, 1940 INVENTOR HOWELL L. POTTER ATTORNEYS Inacoordance with my invention a roller bearsome of the bearing balls apart, while two roll-- ing is provided with anti-friction bearing means ers space other of the adjacent balls apart. The for taking thrusts which the roller hearing itbearing as a whole, however, is symmetrical. self is incapable of taking.. Other designs involving different fixed diameters It is an object of the invention to provide an may involve a greater or less number of spacing improved form of combined radial and thrust rollers. bearing. In the particular design illustrated, the diam- It is a more specific object to provide a uniteter of the balls is substantially a whole number handling roller bearing capable of anti-fricmultiple of the diameter of the bearing rollers '50 tionally taking substantial end thrusts. that thebearin'g rollers 8-8 may extend axial y .in the planes of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. 30 as 'I could be interposedbetween both ends of Patented Jan. 13, 1942 2,269,684

UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE I Q .332; a .Q

Howell L. Potter, New Britain, Con'm, asslgnor ct The Fafnir Bearing Company, NewBritain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application September 11, 1940, Serial No.356 ,257 6 Claims. (Cl. 308-174) My inventionrelates to an anti-friction bearmg is of the Conrad type and spacers are proing designed to take relatively heavy radial as vided for the balls- Thespacers in the form well as thrustloads. Roller bearings, for exillustrated are the long rollers or needles 8-8 ample needle roller bearings, are capable of which extend axially of the bearing between the tak-mgheavy radial loads, but are of themselves balls and serve to space the same apart. As capable of taking substantially no thrust loads. illustrated, three adjacent rollers serve to space Another object is to provide a roller bearing alongside of balls so as to space them apart; and with means directly incorporated therewith and intermediate shorter rollers 1-4, which are in form n a part thereof for taking thrust loads. effect behind the balls as viewed in Fig. 1,' may .Other objects and various features of novelty contact the adjacent long rollers 8-8 at each and invention will be hereinafter pointed out side of the balls. As illustrated, the balls are, or-will become apparent to those skilled-in the located adjacent one end of the. bearing and art. V the rollers 8 are long ones extending between the In the drawing wh h shows. for i ustrat v balls and acting as spacers, while the rolls 1 purposes only, a preferred form of the invenare shorter and are interposed between the balls tionandthe opposite end of the bearing. It will be F a. 1 i n n v W in e eva ion of a r clear that the raceway grooves 9-! could be illustrating features of the invention; located at any feasible point betwen the ends Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially of the bearing rings and that short rollers such In the preferred form shown. the e rin inthe rings and the balls when the latter are cludes an outer bearing ring .5 and an inner located nearer the center of the bearing. Also, r n r ng each of whiclirings is provided short rollers arranged in end to end relation w h a yl d al a in ra eway s r a ef may be substituted for the rollers. shown. the interposed roller bearings, such as the needle Means such as retainers and seals are prorollers 1-8. A needle or roller bearing ,of the vided f rm-eventing the rollers from dropping ime Ju scribed will carry very substantial out.- In the preferred form each of the'seals radial loads. The bearing is further provided Eomprises'a sheet metal sleeve member I! tightly with anti-friction means for taking thrust loads fittingthe inner ring 6 and having an outwardly wh ch th ro r a n alone would be indirected .flange It to serve as'a retainer for the capable of taking. a bearing rollers and as a seal for the bearing as In the preferred form, the outer and inner a, whole, rings are provided with angular contact race-. While the bearing constructed as shown hereways (in the present instance raceway grooves in would not 'pernnt of pure rolling motion be- 9-10) in the outer and inner rings. Angular 5 tween the rollers and their raceway surfaces and contact anti-friction bearing members such the balls and their raceway surfaces, it is to be halls H are carried in the raceways 9-40. The understood. that this hearing has its principal balls vll preferably have a very loose radial fit application in situations where the rings merely in the grooves 9-40 since the rollers 1-8 are oscillate relatively to each other, and for such designed to take all or substantially all of the service the very slight slippage of, say, the balls radial load applied to the bearing. However, will be of no mome t. Furthermore. the to the the angular contact raceways 9-"), together unavoidable or designed looseness of the balls and with the interposed balls, are designed to take bearing rollers, there may be true rolling movery substantial end thrusts. Inthe form shown, tion of the rollers and the balls during limited the ball bearing portion of the improved bearrotation of the bearing rings; 7

It will be seen that I have provided a compact form of bearing capable of taking very heavy radial as well as thrust loads. The bearing is simple in design and construction, very easy to asemble, and very effective in the applications for which the bearing is by its nature fitted.

While the invention has been described in considerable detail and a preferred form illustrated, it is to be understood that various changes may be made withinthe scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hearing of the character indicated including inner and outer race rings having cylindrical raceway surfaces thereon, said raceways intermediate the ends thereof having complementary raceway grooves for balls, bearing rollers interposed between said rings and fitting said cylindrical raceway surfaces, some of said rollers extending between balls in said ball raceway grooves and serving as spacing members for said balls, some of said rollers extending only from the balls to the ends of the rings.

2. A bearing of the character indicated including inner and outer bearing rings having cylindrical raceways for bearing rollers, bearing rollers on said raceways, said'rings having complementary ball raceway grooves therein, balls fitting said ball raceway grooves and serving to limit relative endwise movement between said bearing rings, some of said bearing rollers being positioned between adjacent balls in said ball raceway grooves and serving to space the latter apart, others of said rollers being positioned between said some of said rollers and extending only from said balls to the ends of said rings.

3. A combined radial eluding a pair of raceway rings having raceway surfaces for hearing rollers, bearing rollersbetween said rings, said rings having complemenand thrust bearing inrollers lying at least in part between adjacent balls for spacing the latter apart, other of said rollers being aligned with said balls and extending only from saidballs toward the ends of said rings.

4. A bearing of the character indicated including inner and outer bearing rings having cylindrical raceway surfaces for hearing rollers, hearing rollers between said rings, some of said hearing rollers being of a length different from the length of other heating rollers, angular contact raceways for anti-friction bearing members in said rings, angular contact anti-friction bearing members in said last mentioned raceways for limiting endwise movement of said bearing rings relatively to each other, some of said rollers extending between adjacent angular contact bearing members for spacing the latter apart.

5. A bearing of the character indicated including inner and outer bearing rings having cylindrical raceway surfaces for bearing rollers, bearing rollers interposed between said bearing rings, said rings having complementary ball raceway grooves therein, balls in said raceway grooves and serving to limit relative endwise movement between said bearing rings, the diameter of said balls being substantially a whole number multiple of the diameter of said bearing rollers, some of said bearing rollers being interposed between adjacent balls and serving to space the latter apart, others of said bearing rollers being axially aligned with said balls between said rings.

6. A hearing of the character indicated including inner and outer race rings having opposed roller raceways, said rings having raceway ,groovesfor balls, balls fitting said raceway tary raceway means for hearing balls, bearing balls in said complementary raceway means and serving to limit relative endwise movement between said bearing rings, some of said bearing grooves, and rollers on said roller raceways at at least one side of said balls and substantially filling said roller raceways circumferentially, some of said rollers being longer than others and e tending between adjacent balls in said raceway grooves.

HOWELL L. POTTER. 

